Whether it is the proponents of the tax system or opponents of the tax system who are quoted in your paper, they both mischaracterize who the tax burden falls upon. It has nothing to do with the landlord. It has everything to do with the renter who will bear the burden when the tax increase is passed on to them.

From a political standpoint, it is much easier to use the all-inclusive "rich landlord" terminology when wanting to gain support for shifting the tax burden. The politicians' representation of raising the taxes on landlords is really a proxy for raising the taxes on the poor. Fundamentally, no matter what they call it, the increased tax burden is going to be paid by the low income, the disenfranchised, and those least able to pay. It will not be a landlord's burden.